Robbie Neilson

Robbie Neilson (born 19 June 1980) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player who is currently the head coach of Scottish Championship club Heart of Midlothian.

Robbie Neilson
Neilson with Hearts in 2006
Personal information
Full name Robbie Neilson[1]
Date of birth (1980-06-19) 19 June 1980[2]
Place of birth Paisley, Scotland
Position(s) Right-back[2]
Club information
Current team
 Heart of Midlothian (head coach)
Youth career
1994–1996 Rangers
1996–1999 Heart of Midlothian
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2009 Heart of Midlothian 200 (1)
1999–2000 → Cowdenbeath (loan) 8 (0)
2002–2003 → Queen of the South (loan) 13 (0)
2009–2011 Leicester City 26 (0)
2011 → Brentford (loan) 15 (0)
2011–2012 Dundee United 21 (0)
2012–2013 Falkirk 3 (0)
2013 East Fife 5 (0)
Total 291 (1)
National team
2000 Scotland U21[3] 2 (0)
2005 Scotland B[4] 1 (0)
2006 Scotland 1 (0)
Teams managed
2014–2016 Heart of Midlothian
2016–2018 Milton Keynes Dons
2018–2020 Dundee United
2020– Heart of Midlothian
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Neilson, who played as a right-back, started his senior career with Heart of Midlothian, making 200 Scottish Premier League (SPL) appearances and winning the Scottish Cup in 2006 with the club. Earlier on in his career, Neilson was loaned to Scottish Football League (SFL) clubs Cowdenbeath and Queen of the South. After failing to agree a new contract with Hearts, Neilson left and signed for English Championship club Leicester City in 2009. After about a year he was dropped from the Leicester first team, and was loaned to Brentford, and was then given a free transfer in the summer of 2011. Neilson played for Dundee United during the 2011–12 season, and later played for Falkirk and East Fife.

He became Hearts' head coach in 2014, winning the Scottish Championship title in his first season. Neilson moved to Milton Keynes Dons during the 2016–17 season. He left Milton Keynes by mutual consent in January 2018, and was appointed manager of Dundee United in October 2018. Neilson guided United to promotion in the curtailed 2019–20 season, after which he left the club to return to Hearts.

Early life

Neilson was born in Paisley, Renfrewshire.[2]

Club career

Hearts
Neilson celebrating with Hearts after winning the Scottish Cup in 2006

Neilson was originally attached to Rangers, the team he supported, through their Boys Club system. He joined Hearts' youth academy aged 16. Neilson won the Scottish Youth Cup in a Hearts side that included captain Scott Severin under manager Peter Houston in 1998.[5][6]

He had time on loan at Cowdenbeath in 1999. In August 2002, Neilson joined Dumfries club Queen of the South on loan. Neilson helped the club consolidate their Scottish First Division status and win the 2002 Scottish Challenge Cup Final after winning 2–0 over Brechin City.[7][8] Neilson made 17 appearances for Queens including a man of the match performance at Clyde. He returned to Tynecastle in January 2003.

A high point in his career came in 2004 with his match-winning goal in Hearts' 2–1 away win over FC Basel in the UEFA Cup, his first in any competition for the club.[9] He scored his first league goal for Hearts in a 3–1 win over Livingston later that season.[10] He played all 120 minutes of the 2006 Scottish Cup Final, which Hearts won on penalties against Gretna.[11]

Neilson was awarded a testimonial match by Hearts in 2008.[12]

On 4 February 2009, he was given the role of Hearts' captain after the departure of Christophe Berra. Manager Csaba László did not start contract talks with Neilson until the season drew to a close. As a result of the new wage structure at Hearts, Neilson and the club could not reach an agreement for a new contract.[13]

Leicester City
Neilson playing for Leicester City in 2010

In search of a new challenge,[14] Neilson agreed terms with English Championship club Leicester City on 21 May 2009.[15] The next day the club confirmed that he had signed a pre-contractual agreement and would join them in July.[16] Signing a three-year contract,[16] Neilson set his sights on helping the club win promotion to the Premier League.[14] He made his debut in a 0–0 draw against Ipswich Town at Portman Road on 15 August, becoming the 1000th player to debut for the club in a competitive match.[17] Neilson finished the season with 19 league games for Leicester. He scored his first goal for the club in a 4–3 League Cup win over Macclesfield Town on 10 August 2010.[18]

Loan to Brentford

On 17 February 2011, Neilson joined Brentford on loan for a month,[19] which was extended until the end of the season on 23 March 2011.[20] On 3 April 2011, Neilson started in the Football League Trophy Final playing the full 90 minutes. Carlisle United won the match 1–0.[21] On 27 May 2011, manager Sven-Göran Eriksson allowed Neilson along with Michael Lamey to speak to other clubs in search of more regular first team opportunities.[22]

Dundee United

After training briefly with Falkirk[23] and Burton Albion, Neilson agreed to sign a contract with Dundee United on 15 November 2011 until the end of the 2011–12 season.[24] His debut for the Tannadice Park club was against his former club Hearts on 19 November 2011. Neilson soon became a regular in the first team and manager Peter Houston said he was keen to keep Neilson at the club.[25] At the end of the season, Neilson was offered a new contract, but he turned the offer down[26] and was released by the club.

Falkirk

After his release, Neilson was linked with Scottish First Division side Falkirk.[27] Neilson played as a trialist for Falkirk in a league match against Dunfermline Athletic on 6 October 2012 that ended in a 2–2 draw. Neilson unfortunately suffered a cheekbone injury during the match.[28] Neilson recovered from this injury to sign for the club and play in a further two league matches. These were both 2–1 defeats, at Raith Rovers on 10 November 2012 and at Livingston on 17 November 2012. After recovering from a knee operation, and having done some coaching work, he signed a short-term deal with Falkirk until the summer of 2013.

East Fife

In September 2013, Neilson joined East Fife as player-coach.[29] He made his debut playing as a trialist on 31 August 2013, against Rangers in a 5–0 defeat.[30]

International career

Neilson was capped 10 times by the Scotland national under-21 team. He won his first and only full Scotland cap in a 2–0 UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying defeat to Ukraine in Kyiv on 11 October 2006.[31][32]

Coaching career

Hearts

On 31 August 2013, Neilson returned to Hearts as their development team (under-20s) manager.[33] The side lost the Scottish Youth Cup final to Rangers on penalties in 2014.[34]

New club owner Ann Budge promoted Neilson to the head coach position, working for director of football Craig Levein in May 2014.[35] Neilson's first official match in charge was a 3–1 home defeat of Annan Athletic in the Scottish Challenge Cup on 26 July.[36] Hearts began the 2014–15 Scottish Championship with five straight wins, including victories against Rangers and Hibernian.[37][38] His team remained undefeated for their first 20 leagues matches until a 3–2 home defeat to Falkirk ended their run on 24 January 2015.[39]

Neilson won the Championship manager of the month awards for August,[40] October,[41] November[42] and March.[43] Hearts clinched the league championship and promotion to the Scottish Premiership, at the first attempt, on 22 March.[44] They finished the season 21 points ahead of nearest challengers, city rivals Hibernian, and 24 points ahead of third-placed Rangers. Neilson was shortlisted for PFA Scotland Manager of the Year,[45] but lost out to John Hughes of Inverness CT.[46]

Hearts finished third in the 2015–16 Scottish Premiership, qualifying for the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League. In November 2016, it was reported that Neilson had agreed to move to Football League One club Milton Keynes Dons, subject to a compensation agreement between the clubs.[47]

Milton Keynes Dons

On 2 December 2016, Milton Keynes Dons confirmed that Neilson had been appointed as manager, as well as his assistant manager at Hearts, Stevie Crawford. The club confirmed Neilson would take charge following the club's FA Cup game against Charlton Athletic.[48] In his first league game in charge of Milton Keynes Dons, he recorded a 1–0 home win against AFC Wimbledon.[49]

After a run of one win in 11 league games, Neilson left Milton Keynes Dons by mutual consent on 20 January 2018.[50] The team had fallen into 21st place, inside the relegation zone.[50]

Dundee United

Neilson was appointed head coach of Scottish Championship club Dundee United in October 2018 with a contract running until the end of the 2019–20 season.[51][52] Neilson expressed confidence that he could repeat his achievement at Hearts and lead Dundee United to promotion to the Scottish Premiership.[52] Dundee United's chairman Mike Martin stated that Neilson was the "outstanding candidate" to emerge from "a long list of impressive applications" for the post and expressed delight at his accepting the offer to take up the post.[52] Neilson's first match in charge saw United defeat Partick Thistle 2–1 at Firhill.[53] At the end of Neilson's first season, United missed out on promotion to the Premiership after losing to St Mirren in the play-off final.[54] He led the side to the Scottish Championship title the following season, which was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[55]

Hearts (second spell)

Neilson returned to Hearts, who had been relegated to the Scottish Championship after the curtailed 2019–20 season, in June 2020.[55]

On October 31st, 2020, Neilson led Hearts to the 2019-20 Scottish Cup Final after 2–1 victory over rivals Hibernian, thus making them Scottish Cup finalists for the second consecutive season.

As of November 10th 2020, Neilson guided Hearts to 9 wins out of 9 in all competitions following a 3–2 victory over East Fife in the 2020–21 Scottish League Cup.

Career statistics

Managerial
As of match played 30 January 2021
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record Ref
PWDLWin %
Heart of Midlothian 12 May 2014 3 December 2016 106 62 22 22 058.5 [48][56]
Milton Keynes Dons 3 December 2016 20 January 2018 66 25 17 24 037.9 [48][57]
Dundee United 8 October 2018 21 June 2020 70 40 16 14 057.1 [58]
Heart of Midlothian 21 June 2020 Present 21 16 0 5 076.2
Total 264 144 56 64 054.5 —

Honours

Player

Queen of the South

Heart of Midlothian

Manager

Heart of Midlothian

Dundee United

Individual

  • Scottish Premiership Manager of the Month: November 2016[59]
  • Scottish Championship Manager of the Month: August 2014,[40] October 2014,[41] November 2014,[42] March 2015,[43] August 2019, November 2019, December 2019, December 2020

References
  1. "List of players under written contract whose registrations have been cancelled by mutual consent between 1 July 2011 and 31 July 2011" (PDF). The Football Association. p. 36. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  2. "Robbie Neilson". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  3. "Scotland U21 Player Robbie Neilson". Fitbastats.com. Bobby Sinnet & Thomas Jamieson. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  4. "Scotland B Player Robbie Neilson". Fitbastats.com. Bobby Sinnet & Thomas Jamieson. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  5. "How Hartley came on leaps and bounds Midfielder thanks Stark for finding his ideal position". Herald Scotland. 12 May 2006. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  6. "Injury forces Scott Severin to end his playing days at 33". The Scotsman. 18 March 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  7. "Queen of the South lift Bells Cup". BBC Sport. 20 October 2002. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  8. "Connolly hails cup triumph". BBC Sport. 20 October 2002.
  9. "Basel 1–2 Hearts". BBC Sport. 25 November 2004. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
  10. "Hearts 3–1 Livingston". BBC Sport. 19 March 2005. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
  11. "Hearts 1–1 Gretna (4–2 on pens)". BBC Sport. 13 May 2006. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  12. Johnstone, Darren (10 August 2014). "Testimonials like mine are history – Neilson". The Scotsman. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  13. "Neilson plans Hearts talks". Sky Sports. BSkyB. 6 May 2009. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2009.
  14. "Neilson targets Premier push". Sky Sports. 8 July 2009. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2009.
  15. "Hearts' Neilson to join Leicester". BBC Sport. 21 May 2009. Retrieved 21 May 2009.
  16. "Neilson signs pre-contract agreement". LCFC.com. Leicester City FC. 22 May 2009. Archived from the original on 18 February 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2009.
  17. "Ipswich 0–0 Leicester". BBC Sport. 15 August 2009. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
  18. "Leicester 4–3 Macclesfield". BBC Sport. 10 August 2010. Retrieved 25 December 2010.
  19. "Neilson joins Bees on loan". LCFC.com. Leicester City FC. 17 February 2011. Archived from the original on 23 September 2011. Retrieved 17 February 2011.
  20. "Reed and Neilson extend loan deals at Brentford". BBC Sport. 23 March 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
  21. Shemilt, Stephan (3 April 2011). "Brentford 0–1 Carlisle". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
  22. "Foxes ready to offload duo". Sky Sports. 27 May 2011. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  23. "Friday's Scottish gossip". BBC Sport. 5 August 2011.
  24. "Neilson relishes Dundee Utd deal". BBC Sport. 15 November 2011.
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  26. "Robbie Neilson close to deciding next move". The Courier. DC Thomson. 4 June 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
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  29. "Neilson signs on at Bayview". HeraldScotland. Herald & Times Group. 10 September 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  30. "Rangers v East Fife 31 Aug 2013". East Fife FC. 31 August 2013. Archived from the original on 28 October 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  31. "Scots green light for Neilson". Sky Sports. BSkyB. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2009.
  32. "Shevchenko brings Scots back down to Earth". The Guardian. 11 October 2006. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  33. "Robbie returns". Heart of Midlothian FC. 31 August 2013. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
  34. "Scottish Youth Cup final: Durie's boys triumph after dramatic penalty shoot-out". Herald Scotland. 13 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  35. McLauchlin, Brian (12 May 2014). "Craig Levein lands Hearts role as boss Gary Locke exits". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  36. "Hearts 3–1 Annan Athletic". BBC Sport. 26 July 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  37. "Rangers 1–2 Hearts". BBC Sport. 10 August 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
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  41. "Neilson wins October award". SPFL.co.uk. 7 November 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
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  45. PFA Scotland Manager of the Year 2014–15 nominees Archived 18 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine PFA Scotland, 30 April 2015; Retrieved 19 May 2015
  46. PFA Scotland Awards 2014–15 winners Archived 18 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine PFA Scotland, 4 May 2015; Retrieved 19 May 2015
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